After our success with the Glanville Fritillary, the next target for Lisa was the Heath Fritillary. This species we decided to try for before too many sightings had been reported, which is not unusual for us as we do like to get the butterflies in excellent condition, and there is also the chance of getting them before the sites get very busy.
It was an early start for the drive of well over 2 hours, and apart from a small diversion, the traffic was lighter than expected. It was also good to see the car park was empty, so we knew we would have the place pretty much to ourselves for a while.
Entering the woodland, we had travelled less than 50 metres, when Lisa came out with those welcome words, 'I've spotted one'. Indeed she had. With the clouds still pretty thick, and it being early, she had found a stunning Heath Fritillary asleep on some Bracken. As we approached the butterfly it was my turn to find another. After that we both found several more of them. We then came across a mass of the larval food-plant, Cow-wheat, and I mentioned in passing to Lisa that I would love to find one of the attractive Heath Fritillary larvae. Almost as soon as I had said it, I spotted one. I've only seen one of these larvae before, so it was a very special moment finding one. However, we then both started to find the larvae all over the woodland, and it became a strange competition to see if we saw more butterflies than larvae!!
Heath Fritillary on Bracken.
After photographing and enjoying the scene, we walked further into the wood, where I spotted several micro moths flying around a Sweet Chestnut tree stump. By now the sun had started to shine, so the temperature too was increasing. The moths were sunning themselves on the leaves that had sprung up on the suckers around the stump. The micro moth was a very attractive insect, and one that I don't think I've seen before. It was called Dasycera oliviella. We spent several minutes trying to photograph them, although they were very active. However, a few minutes later we came across some more, and these were a bit more approachable. Especially the mating pair that I spotted.
Dasycera oliviella
Mating Dasycera oliviella.
We then proceeded further into the woodland following the main paths. We kept spotting a few butterflies, as well as some more larvae. The competition between the 2 was very close, and as I was responsible for the larvae and Lisa the butterflies, it was nip and tuck all the way, and was also a bit of fun.
At one clearing we came across many butterflies, and most were in excellent condition. As it was a very sunny glade, the butterflies were quite active, although in some of the shadows we found some that were still a bit drowsy. It was in this glade where we both got our best photos from the day. We also spotted a mating pair. I guess with the amount of butterflies that were flying around, it was inevitable that we would come across a pairing. We had also continued to see yet more larvae!!
We had been in the woodland for several hours when we decided we should start the long drive home, and in all that time, we had only seen 3 other people that had been there for the butterflies, and only one we spoke to, the other 2 people were only seen at a distance. Even the dog walkers were thin on the ground. It had been a fabulous day, and Lisa had seen another British butterfly for the 1st time. It was now only the Swallowtail left for her to get to reach her target of seeing every regular breeding species in mainland Britain.
This was also Lisa's first day out with her new camera. She has always had Canon cameras, but as I'm on Nikon, and she sometimes wants to borrow my lenses she finally decided to get a Nikon!!
The day before our Kent trip, we went up to Park Cameras for her to buy the camera. As we literally went past Ditchling Common, we decided to have a very quick look for the Black Hairstreaks that have been showing over the past few years there. As the day was cool and cloudy, I knew we didn't stand a chance. Once again, there had only been one reported sighting there at this point, which made our chances seem even more slim. After looking at the usual areas where the butterfly is often seen, I suggested having a look at another small area where I have seen them before. Amazingly, one was sitting on the Bracken, seemingly waiting for us. Although not easy to photograph, we both managed a few shots before the butterfly flew off. We then looked at a few other areas before ending up back where we had seen it, and the butterfly had come back down to the Bracken again, giving us much better photographs.
This was a totally unexpected bonus, as I was sure we wouldn't see any!!
With Lisa's holidays coming to an end, would we have a window of opportunity and weather, to get to Norfolk to see the Swallowtail, and to complete the list?
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